Tonya Barnett
Name: Tonya Barnett
Occupation: Aspiring Flower Farmer, Heirloom Vegetable Gardener, Soapmaker, Blogger
Place of Residence: Ohio River Valley, Kentucky
Background: Having grown up in an inner city neighborhood, Tonya had never stopped to think from where her food came. No one in her family had a vegetable garden, and she certainly hadn’t imagined that organic gardening would ever be a part of her life. One day, while completing her teaching degree, she stumbled upon an envelope blowing across the parking lot as she left work. She stopped and picked up the trash. It was a discarded package of pumpkin seeds. For whatever reason, she decided to plant the seeds and grow her own jack o’lantern. That season, the pumpkin struggled to survive, but her love of gardening flourished.
Tonya continued her education, earning a Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, while working as an education specialist in the local school system. Soon, finding employment became difficult. However, one aspect of her life remained consistent – organic gardening.
By this time, Tonya’s garden had expanded and slowly consumed her entire backyard. In addition to heirloom veggies, she had started to grow cut flowers. Finding herself frustrated with a lack of detailed growing information, it was then that she decided to start blogging her experiences.
Tonya takes pride in her real life approach to growing a beautiful yard, and enjoys sharing her success and failure. Having grown up with financial stress, she believes that healthy produce should be accessible to all – regardless of where you come from.
Connect with Tonya:
Blog: FRESHCUTKY
Instagram: @freshcutky
YouTube: FRESCHCUTKY